Misplaced?

Did you know the Bible talks often about seeking Him?  Even though he pursues us, he is always there for us, and he loves us unconditionally, we are told to seek him.  Perhaps it’s because when we seek for something, we go after it and when we find it, we treasure it.

Deut 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

It seems that if we want to find God in our daily loves, we must seek Him.  Otherwise, his kindness and goodness get covered up in the mundane and in the woes of daily living in this world.

If we lose a wedding ring, for instance, we search, we pull the house apart, we cry and we pray until we find that precious piece of jewelry handed to us in the middle of vows of commitment and love.

There will be times in life when God is not so visible, not because he has hidden, but because we cover him up with fear, mistrust, and just busyness.  It will require that we lay aside those things and make the choice to seek Him through prayer and his word.

And we will FIND HIM if we search with all our heart and soul.

What are you seeking for?  More money, a better body, a relationship with someone?  Seek Him.  

And you’ll never want to misplace him again…

On the Rock

In Matthew 7 is one of my favorite stories Jesus tells:

 Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock.

This is the best word picture, the best description, and one of the best definitions of what a true Christian is.

We hear God’s word to us and we act on them – in other words – we love him with all our hearts and love others as we love ourselves.

We experience rain and wind and even floods, just like everyone in the world does, and we feel shaken and “slammed” against…

BUT we don’t fall, because we are FOUNDED on the ROCK.

That’s what sets those apart who love the Lord – they cannot be shaken – because HE is never shaken.

But we must obey  his word and his commands to love Him and love others…that’s the prerequisite for standing in the storm.

Look!

Isaiah 51:1 “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,

Who seek the Lord: Look to the rock from which you were hewn

And to the quarry from which you were dug.

In the New Testament we are told if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, “all these things” will be added to us.  It’s referring to things like food and clothing – necessities of life.

But sometimes, the problem is we don’t seek righteousness but instead run from it, because we’re afraid or we’re just not even sure what it is.

God has promised that if we seek him we will find him.  If we desire him, he will be there. And if we let him, he will make us in his image – spotless and pure in his sight – because of his son Jesus.

So we go back to the Creator, the one who made us from the dust, the one who breathed life into our bodies, and the one who sustains us on a daily basis.

That’s where we go, and we marvel, and we rest, and we know that He is our God.

We Have

Isaiah 26:4

“Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.

Isn’t a rock everlasting, already?  We know that rocks in our yards and on our earth eventually can be affected by weather and abrasion over time.  However, we are told here that God is our “everlasting” rock.

That’s significant.  He isn’t moved by time or space or the elements of time and space.  People are, things are, but God isn’t.

This means that when others fail you, time does a number on you, or things come and go in your life, the steady hand that leads you will always be steady, the faithful eye that watches over you will always watch over you, and the constant love that covers you will always cover you.

Trust in him.

Because he’s everlasting.

Because he’s the Rock.

Blessed

Psalm 144

Blessed be the Lord, my rock,
Who trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
My lovingkindness and my fortress,
My stronghold and my deliverer,
My shield and He in whom I take refuge…

Can you see yourself on the battlefield of life, standing on this immovable rock (GOD) as he trains you for the battle to WIN by his love and his power and his deliverance, all while you take REFUGE in him when the battle rages too high?

He has made us in His image, and when we choose to bless him and call him LORD, he then trains us to operate in that mighty power of who he is – that powerful love that he is – and that strong power that he is – and that safe place that he is.

It’s a win-win situation doing life on the ROCK.

Declare It

Psalm 92:15 To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

Do you ever wonder why God is referred to as a rock?  Why not a tree, or a pebble, or a plot of ground?  And what makes him immovable and strong and a firm foundation?

It’s because he’s holy.

“…there is NO unrighteousness in Him.”

We cannot say that about anyone else, for we have all sinned.  In fact, we have all messed up and we do it daily.  But yet, he requires us to be holy as He is.

And that process only takes place as we continually declare his holiness and his righteousness and his goodness in our lives…

He is our rock.

And that means the world…doesn’t it?  There is nothing ill, bad, ugly, or unholy in him.  That makes him immovable and strong.

And we belong to Him.

Split Rock

Psalm 78

He split the rocks in the wilderness And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
He brought forth streams also from the rock And caused waters to run down like rivers.

God freed his people from slavery and led them in the wilderness toward the land he promised them, a land flowing with milk and honey.  However, in the process of getting there, his people got thirsty.

Moses struck a rock, at God’s command, and water gushed forth.  It didn’t trickle.  In fact, these verses compare it to them getting a drink “like the ocean depths” and that the waters ran “like rivers.” This mean there was an endless supply and it never ran dry.

God always cares for his people when they listen and follow him, even when their throats are dry and their stomachs are hungry, and they cry to him for provision. 

And if only, if only, we could realize that his water is so deep and so everlasting, we would never worry, never fear, and we would always give thanks for the rock from which the water flows.

Thirsty?  His water is there, flowing deep and running down...just jump in and drink.

Not Shaken

Psalm 62:6

He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.

I had a friend recently share that when we stand on the ROCK we can bend, we can even fall flat on our face, and we can become weak in the knees…BUT if we are planted in Him in faith, our feet will not be moved.

I thought of one of those rubber band dolls that are connected to a base, but when you push up on them they crumble.  The base keeps the doll intact, even though all of the joints are bendable.

This verse reminds us that in HIM we cannot be shaken loose . He has hold of us is and is never ever letting go or forsaking us.  He is our rock, and he keeps our feet adhered to the rock.

I love that picture of bending and wavering but never falling….

Need to be glued to something immovable?  Jesus is the Rock.  Stand on Him.

To Me a Rock

Psalm 31:2 Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly; Be to me a rock of strength, A stronghold to save me.

Do you have someone in your life who is a rock?  It's usually a friend that is there when you need them, one that doesn't desert you in time of need, or one that's rock solid in their character.  But even the best rock of a friend fails us sometimes.

Rock solid friends have their own life to deal with, they have their own families, and they have needs, too.

God is the rock of strength that will never fail.  He never grows weary, the Bible says.  And his understanding never ends.  He's the rock "that doesn't roll" as a song I used to like says.

All we have to do is cry out to Him and he rescues us and comes under our weak knees and makes us stand and not fall.

It's good to have friends who are rocks.  It's better to have the Rock who is a friend.

The ROCK

Deut 32:4 “The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

I love that God is called the Rock. 

Think about a huge rock.  We have one in the center of a flowing body of water in a town near me, called the Round Rock.  It never moves, although the water flows around it, rains fall on in, bugs and pests crawl over it, and the sun beats down upon it.  It’s become an icon, and it’s even the name of the town.

A rock is a great picture for us to visualize God.  God too is immovable and upstanding, and constant – and that’s a comfort to our lives that are always changing, sorrow that ebbs and flows, and hard times that rain down upon us.

Meditate upon the fact that he is the ROCK and take comfort in his unchanging ways, and his name that lends itself to wherever YOU live.

God is our Rock.  A firm foundation.

Beware

Deut 11:16 Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them.

Is God an egomaniacal deity?  No way.

He knows that because we are created to worship, the only way we can experience his great love and power is to worship him.

Any other thing or person that we value more than Him will not fulfill us or meet our deepest need – to know and be known by our Creator.

We have to be aware and beware of anything in our culture, our lives, among our group of friends, etc. that would pull us away from worshiping God and God alone.

When we do that, we are making the choice to turn away from God to serve something else, and it will always end in our continual search for something that satisfies.

Worship God.

Don’t turn away.

Instead, turn to him and fall on your knees and present to him your heart, as you give him the highest value and worth by worshiping Him alone.

No More!

Revelation 21:4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

What a hope we all have! 

When we mourn, we cry. And there’s lots of mourning to be had on this earth.  We lose, we fail, we hurt, we despair, and we wonder…and we cry.  Crying releases tension. Crying to God encourages hope.  And crying washes our faces with tears that can then be wiped away.

But one day…and it’s SO true…crying will be done and over with. There will be no reason to cry for mourning or pain, because all of that will be behind us and be no more.

Jesus is coming.  He’s coming to wipe away every tear, for good.  He’s coming to erase death from being a part of life.  And he’s coming for me and for you, the ones who believe and call him Savior, because we have turned from our sin and received him into our hearts.

Do you know Jesus?  I’m not asking about religion, but rather about a relationship?  Do you know that he loves you, he died for you, and he lives for you? 

Believe in him, receive him, cry out to him, and trust him and then wait…

He will come.

For us all.

If that’s not a Valentine of love of the greatest kind, I don’t know what is… 

Rather...

Romans 8:15

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship.  And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

Look at the progression here. 

Perhaps when we first hear of God or dare to enter his presence in prayer, we cry because of all of our sin, our distress, our needs, etc.  And he is faithful to hear us.  And we are a bit fearful, but at the same time hopeful, that he will come and help us.

But as we walk with him, learn of him, and experience him daily in our lives, we begin to realize that we are his children.  And our cry changes.  It’s a cry of delight at the realization that we belong to him and have that relationship with him, one of father/daughter or father/son.

Think of the difference between a son crying in fear because he knows he has disobeyed his father and is awaiting his consequence…and a son crying in adoration and love at his father’s appearance after a disappointment or a defeat and he runs into His arms.

Cry out to your Father, but cry out in delight and adoration for all that He is and all that you are in his sight.

Wailing

Hosea 7:14

They do not cry out to me from their hearts but wail on their beds. They slash themselves, appealing to their gods for grain and new wine, but they turn away from me.

I wanted to include this verse in our look at the word “cry” in the Bible.  Here we see a crying that produces nothing – more of a wailing.  Crying for crying's sake may release tension and pressure, but wailing and saying “woe is me” and certainly crying to dead gods or other idols – instead of the one true God – produces nothing good at all.

When we cry, our cry can be one of lament and pain, but we must move from that so that we don’t slip into wailing and despair, and begin looking elsewhere for answers.

God hears our cries.  And he wants us to know that he is our great defender, our warrior, who then cries and defeats our enemies.

But he also wants us to know that there is no other source from whom we can receive anything good at all.  And when we turn from those other things, and from our wailing and despair, and begin crying out in hope and faith to him, He will respond back to us.

What are you crying about today?  And where is your faith?

Make sure it’s in Him.

For the Children

Lamentations 2:19

Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin; pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children, who faint from hunger at every street corner.

A lamentation is a weeping or a cry for something or someone.  I love the imagery in this passage – we are to pour out our hearts like water in His presence.

Water just flows when the container it’s in is tilted.  It doesn’t hesitate, clog up, or hold back, it just flows out.  That’s how we are to be in His presence, holding nothing back from him.  Just tilt our heads forward and let the cries out.

And here we read that one of our cries can be for our children – “who faint from hunger at every street corner.”  That’s a great picture of our children in America and other countries, today. 

Some are literally hungry, physically, in countries where famine and disease are rampant, or where children have no parents are left to beg.  Some are hungry spiritually because they live in a land full of things and what they need physically, but they are left to fend on their own when it comes to finding love, acceptance, and security.

We can cry out, pour out, and be assured that he receives and hears it all – when we cry for the children.

God loves the little children…all the children of the world.

Then...

From  Isaiah 58:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. “If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land  and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden,

 like a spring whose waters never fail.

I love this passage, but it’s a firm call from God to provide action to our faith if we want him to provide action back to our cries.  A great read…

Battle Cry!

Isaiah 42:13 The Lord will march out like a champion, like a warrior he will stir up his zeal; with a shout he will raise the battle cry and will triumph over his enemies.

What a great verse!

We have a champion, a warrior, the Lord himself, who stirs up his zeal!

He raises a battle cry and wins!

Some of the best movies and stories are ones of battles, and the best endings are where the “good guys” win, right?  And it’s usually due to the ferocious and heroic acts of a general, a leader, or even a passionate soldier who gives his life for those with whom he is serving.

Jesus gave his life for us.  So he calls us his own, and he takes full responsibility for making sure that NO WEAPON formed against us can prosper.  In fact, when the enemy pushes hard against us, Jesus marches out in defeat with a big “Whoop!” and the enemy is pushed back and defeated.

It’s a great thing to know you’re on the winning team, and that winning isn’t up to your strength, but up to the ONE who has already defeated every enemy there is – and He loves you enough to call us his own.

Fainting Cry

Psalm 84:2 My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

We want the Lord to hear our cries when we are in distress and in trouble, and he most certainly does.  And he comes and rescues us.

But here in this verse is a different kind of cry.  It’s a yearning, a fainting, a crying out for the living God.

When is the last time you cried out just to be in his presence, to experience his holiness, to know him in all of his glory…aside from what he can give you?

I know that I don’t cry this kind of prayer enough.

And I know I’ve never quite fainted because I yearned for him so much.

What a concept…to yearn for the Lord with our heart and our flesh…so much that we physically wane unless we touch Him.

A Righteous Cry

Psalm 34 says

The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;

^… The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.

Who are the righteous?  Those who believe and surrender to Him.  And twice in this verse we read that the Lord hears their cries.

In fact, he’s attentive and he delivers them from their troubles.

Have you ever noticed that a mom knows the cries of her child?  She knows if it’s a cry that warrants her attention, or if it’s a cry that’s just trying to get attention.  There’s a difference, isn’t there?  And a mom knows her child and what he needs, and if the cry is legit…the child is swooped up into Mom’s arms. If the cry is to manipulate, the child is left to cry it out and get over it.

I think God knows our cries; in fact, I’m sure he does.  He knows when our cry is one of distress, if it’s a cry for something that can wait, or if it’s a toddler-like cry just because we’re tired and whiny.

He’s a good Father and attends to the cry of the righteous…always.  Even when we feel he’s not listening… 

Slavery Cry

Feb 6

In Exodus it says, The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God.

The Israelites were under great duress because of slavery and bondage, and they began to cry out to God.  And this verse says “because of their slavery” their cry went up to God. 

Did you know that God cares for those who are in slavery, those who are being abused, and those who are crying out to Him in their pain?

We cannot even comprehend the pain of those in other countries who are being persecuted for their faith, being taken advantage of because of their own disadvantages, or even those poor children who are lost without parents in countries torn from war or disaster.

But God hears the cries, and God rescues.  We may not understand and it may look like no rescue is in sight, but we serve a God of justice and restoration and righteousness.

We too can cry out for the those in bondage.

And God WILL come and set them free.

Holy City

Rev 21:2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.

I’ve heard of Sin City and the Windy City, but never the Holy City.  It’s a place where only the holy will reside, those who have been purified and made perfect in his sight, by his blood.  It’s a place prepared for the holy, and it’s a new city where we reside in the presence of God always…the Holy One.

John, the writer of Revelation, saw a vision of this city descending down out of heaven.

Most of us don’t think of heaven on a daily basis, unless we’ve lost a loved one, or unless we’re suffering something that is bringing us close to death.  Then we wonder a lot about the after life.

There’s no need to fear or wonder or even try to figure it all out.

All we have to do is accept that He’s a Good Father, a Sweet Savior, and a Heavenly Husband awaiting his bride – us.  It’s that simple.

What a beautiful thought…

You Alone

Rev 15:4 Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.

Can you imagine every nation in the entire world worshiping before the One who is holy?  It’s going to happen.  All ethnic groups, those who are across the seas from us, those right beside us, those who live in poverty-stricken lands, and those who live in luxurious fine castles.  Every knee will bow and every tongue confess.

It’s not because God is this egotistical being who will someday cause everyone to bow a knee; but rather, he is the only one – the HOLY ONE – and his desire is that we be holy so that we can experience all that he is and when we do...oh wow.

His “righteous acts” – all of those things we never understood and could not explain – will one day be revealed and that revelation will cause all of us to fall before him in adoration and worship like never before.

I wonder what that day will be like?  It’s coming…and it’s going to be glorious.

Day and Night

Revelation 4:8

Day and night they never stop saying: “‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,’ who was, and is, and is to come.”

Can you imagine a place where nonstop “holy, holy, holy” is going on?  Would it grate on our nerves?

I don’t think so. 

When we arrive and see him in all of his glory and realize that all he said was true, and experience complete wiping away of all tears, healing of all sicknesses, and restoration of all that was lost, I can imagine that we will join in as we cry out “holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”

In fact, we might want to continue forever in adoration of the One Who is Faithful and True.

We lose sight of his faithfulness and truth as we live daily in this life, with bad news, loss of hope, huge disappointments, and great fears that we encounter.  It’s hard sometimes to keep on and take another step forward, when the wind is constantly pushing us backwards.

But just like when a storm subsides, flood waters recede, and clouds pass, the sun is always there shining.  And one day, there will be no more storms or floods or clouds to cover – only sun forever.

I can’t imagine it.  But I plan to be there, among those who cry out, and next to all of those who have been made holy through his great mercy and love…

Built Up

Jude 20

 But you, dear friends, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,  keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

“building yourselves up” – what does this mean?

One way we can do this is to assemble with others who are in pursuit of holiness.  There’s no better place or way to be spurred on to holiness than by rubbing shoulders and spending time with other believers who are also struggling.  We will get annoyed, downright peeved, and also blessed, when we do.

We just “keep” ourselves in God’s love.  His love never changes, but we wander in and out of it, by believing lies about Him and about ourselves.

God is merciful, he sent his son Jesus to die in our place, to restore us to Him. However, he expects us to continue on, press forward, and walk in the light as we choose to remain in his truth, his word, and surrounded by his people, so that we all one day…

Experience that eternal life he has for all of us who believe.

Don’t lose hope or faith or pursuit of holiness.  Let others be near you to annoy you.  And learn from each day to surrender all concerns to Him, as he works out his clay-forming hands to make us into His image as we let him heal, make over, and create…